After the amazing re-renovation, and the successful community crowdfunding effort, Bernal Neighbor Joan “The Whirlwind” Carson says the new, geo-cool sidewalk mosaic atop the Esmeralda Slide Park is now complete.
Neighbor Joan tells Bernalwood:
With all the fanfare I can muster, I can proudly announce “The Locator” has been successfully installed in the Plaza at Esmeralda Slide Park. For those of you who don’t know what ” The Locator” is, be prepared to see a 9 foot diameter mosaic tile installation in the Plaza’s sidewalk.
Although the installation took but 5 days, March 8-12, it has been in the works since September 2015. I had it in my head that the Plaza would be a great place to have some kind of signage to help folks know where the Park is in relation to the surrounding area. I floated the idea by Nancy Windesheim, my organizing partner who happens to be a graphic artist extraordinaire. I came up with a concept drawing and Nancy translated it into a graphic image.
In January 2016, the initial design was embraced by the Department of Public Works as part of their continued effort in renovating Esmeralda Slide Park. I searched for local tile artists who could fabricate the design into a walkable surface and discovered Rachel Rodi, an accomplished tile artist whose background included other walkable surfaces in public settings.
Nancy and I raised the funds for Rachel’s fabrication through a GoFundMe in July-August 2016. So many of you gave…. 125 donors to be exact. Josh Arce brought in 2 big donors and helped get us fiscal sponsorship from the Laborers’ Community Service And Training Foundation.
Esmeralda mosaic fan club watching the installation
So here we are today with this beautiful piece of Public Art. For me, seeing it is a daily reminder of what “We” can collectively create when we bring together community, government, corporate and non-profit entities.
Special thanks to Neighbors Joan and Nancy, and everyone who worked or contributed to make the glorious and symbolically important Esmeralda Slide Park awesome again.
PHOTOS: Courtesy of Neighbor Joan
Bernalwood 
thank you for all the beautiful work you have done. i cannot wait to bring my grandchildren.: the plantings, the slide, and now this beautiful mosaic centering us. with what we are.
Love it!
Nice work!
wonderful!! I’m further south on Winfield from Esmeralda, and will stop by for a look real soon.
Hi there, Great article! I’m so excited to have the slide park done and the new mosaic in place! Its stunning!!! Not to mention, now with daylight savings, we will be hitting up the slide several times per week!!! It is a lot of fun and also great exercise for the adults! Is there any way I can request the photo of the people watching the artists install the mosaic? My two kids and I are in the pic and it was a very memorable moment for us. I would love to be able to store that pic for years to come. Thanks again, Natanya (pictured with my two sons, Zander and Oakley- we live on Elsie)
You can send your email address to Bernalwood and ask for it to be sent to me. I’ll then send you an email with the photo. It was great watching your kids enthusiasm and they asked really smart question of the installation team!
Joan
I love it! Thank you, neighbors!
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